Winter Spirit
by FullMetal Alchemistress
Summary: What if Jack had been there to help Elsa? Tried to keep the Frozen plot line canon with Jack added. Timeline might not match up between the two movies but pretend they do. Post RoTG set during Frozen. Jack helps Elsa to control her raging emotions and her powers. ONESHOT JackxElsa Jelsa


Jack swung his staff up and rested it on his shoulder as he glanced around with a little bit of pride. Snow coated the streets and flakes drifted down from the sky—another snow day for Michigan. The sun had set but the streets were glowing orange in that way that it always did at night when the ground was covering in snow.

He turned on his heal and jumped up into the wind and flew above the town. As the hour grew later, lights in the houses began to flick off one by one. Jack landed on a power line and turned towards the direction of Jamie's house. His light had gone out before the snow had begun—it was a surprise for him. Jamie had been stressed out for a week over some project for school. Jack had made him a promise—once the project was done and turned in, Jack would give him a small snow day.

A glimmer of gold caught Jack's attention and he pushed his hood off his head, eyes traveling to the sky where a tendril of slowing sand slowly made its way towards him. He reached out and touched the stream gently, still amazed by the Sandman's powers as it burst into golden snowflakes.

Jack grinned and pushed off the lines, letting this wind take him up the long string of dream sand until he reached the source about half a mile away. The Sandman stood in the center of his cloud, traveling towards Jack.

"Hey, Sandy," Jack greeted, watching as sand still poured from the cloud in long stringy wisps. Sandy seemed more excited to see him than he usually did.

Sandman's sand pooled above his head and an image of a magnifying glass formed before changing into Jack's silhouette. Jack's eyebrows pulled together and he leaned against his staff. "You were looking for me?" The smaller man shook his head vigorously and the sand formed into the shape of the familiar Russian man. "_North _is looking for me?" Jack corrected, to which Sandman nodded once with a small smile on his face.

"Thanks, Little Man," Jack called as he took off in the general direction of the north pole. It wasn't often one of the guardians called to him, but he found that North liked to keep tabs on him from time to time. He wasn't sure if it was a guardian thing or if North just didn't want him to be alone anymore. Tooth had her job to do, as did Sandman. And Bunny wasn't Jack's biggest fan, not that Jack minded too much. North seemed to make it his job to keep in touch.

In no time, Jack recognized the snowy landscape that surrounded North's workshop and he quickly found the entrance. The yeti's led the way through the main part of the workshop and towards his office.

"Jack," North exclaimed, pushing away from his desk and standing up, simultaneously waving away the yeti's. "How have you been?"

"Good, I guess," Jack shrugged, leaning against his staff casually. "Sandy said you were looking for me."

"Yes. We have problem." North crossed his arms, tattoos stretching around the muscle in a way that used to intimidate Jack. "Where have you been?"

"Me?" Jack asked, confused. He stood a little straighter, feeling like an accusation was coming. "I've been in Michigan. America. Why? What's the problem?"

"There is snow storm in Norway. Unusual for this time of year. Should be summer."

Jack shoved one hand into his pocket and carried his staff with the other as he began to trail around the room feeling a little relieved. "So, naturally you thought I was involved. Can't blame you."

"Except you are not there causing the problems," North noted.

"Nope." Jack stopped running his fingers along the spines of North's books and glanced back at him. "I am a winter spirit, so I guess I can go take a look. I can't bring in the summer weather, but I sure can stop whatever is causing the snowstorm."

North gave him a smile and a nod. "Thank you, Jack."

Jack waved his words of thanks off and made his way out of the workshop, managing to cause small problems by freezing some elves as he found the exit.

"Which way is Norway?" he asked the wind, throwing his arms open as a gust led him in the general direction.

A storm of emotions began to bubble in his chest. A snowstorm in summer? That sounded like something he would have done. Was it possible there was a new winter spirit somewhere? What would that be like? Someone to cause trouble with him. Someone who could relate to more than a Russian giant who makes toys.

Someone like him.

That thought pushed him faster towards the roaring clouds dropping pounds of snow on a small seaside town. Mountains obscured his direct view of the town, but he could see the clouds, the snow, and a bit of the shore. He flew through the peaks of the mountains with ease, but stopped abruptly and did a double take.

"Wow," Jack breathed, studying the glassy castle that sat perched on the side of a cliff. He flew closer and watched as a large snow creature chased two people back down the mountain. "North has nothing on this place." Again, Jack got closer and landed on a balcony, jumping slightly at the surprisingly familiar feel beneath his feet. "It's made of ice. Guess I'm in the right place."

There didn't seem to be handles anywhere on the doors in front of him, so he used his own powers to pull one open just enough to get himself inside. And the inside was just as awesome and amazing as the outside. The room in front of him was large and open, the ceiling peaking up to a point, the intricate patterns in the ice reflecting light everywhere.

"Who made this?" he wondered aloud, slowly making his way towards the entrance on the other side of the room. Surely this had to be the home of a new winter spirit. It was the only explanation. Excitement coursed through him when he reached the other side of the grand room only to find a series of different staircases and walkways leading to different parts of this ice palace.

A glimmer of movement to his left caught his eye just in time for him to see a flurry of light sheer fabric drift into a room down a short hallway. "I think I found the owner of this place," he muttered to himself, drifting down towards the source of the ice. The air temperature dropped significantly in the short distance and he could feel waves of freezing cold air rolling out of the room.

"I'm such a fool," a voice spat. "I can't be free." Jack hovered by the door and watched as a light haired woman dropped to her knees, her head in her hands. She looked totally defeated. Beneath her, the already icy floor seemed to frost over with a new layer of ice. She pulled away and stared at her shaking hands. "There's no escape from the storm inside of me. I can't control the curse."

She jumped up suddenly and began to pace. She didn't seem to notice him so Jack took the chance to wander further into the room. Jack couldn't help but note how beautiful this woman was as she paced around the center of the room. She didn't seem to notice that as she was doing this, muttering harsh words to herself, she was throwing off sharp points of ice.

As one shard formed and flew towards him, Jack reacted on instinct and froze the shard inches from his face. It fell to the floor and shattered, catching the woman's attention. Her head snapped up and she stopped pacing.

"Who are you?" she demanded, standing up straighter. Jack's eyes lingered on the accentuated curves. "I asked you a question."

Jack blinked and took a steps towards her. She took an equal step back. "My name is Jack. Jack Frost. I'm the spirit of winter."

"Are you the reason I have the powers?" she whispered. "Are you the one that cursed me?"

"Cursed you?" Jack asked, astonished. He glanced around the room of ice. How could any of that be considered a curse? But then again, not too long ago, he himself thought his life to be cursed. Cursed to live alone forever with only the powers of his snow. "No. I didn't give you your powers. I'm here to help."

"Are you from Arendelle?" she snapped. "Did Anna send you?"

"What? No, no—I was sent here, but not by Anna or Arendelle or whatever."

The woman rolled her eyes and turned away. "Leave. You're not safe here. No one is. I'm a danger to myself and anyone around me."

"Listen—" Jack began, walking towards her.

She threw her arms up and yelled once again for him to leave, but as she did so, more pieces of ice formed and flew at him. Thinking quick, Jack gripped his staff and held the tip out in front of him, instantly willing the ice to stop in the air. This time he didn't let go. He wanted her to see.

"I think I can handle you," he said calmly, watching her face change and soften. "What's your name?"

"Please, just go," she yelled, throwing more ice at him, intentionally this time, which Jack managed to stop with ease. This only set her off more. She swung her arms around her quickly and suddenly Jack was surrounded with a circle of sharp ice at eye level.

"You're gonna have to do better than that," he laughed, taking off into the air. "I'm the guardian of fun, and you're a living ice spirit that can hardly control her powers."

Oops. Probably not the best thing to say…

The woman gnashed her teeth together, and with her whole being, summoned up a force of ice and snow that was enough to blast Jack out the side of the castle. The wind ripped Jack's staff from his hands and he felt himself beginning to freefall, hands grasping uselessly for the stick that kept him air bound.

Jack felt the initial hit when his head found the side of the mountain, but the white world around him turned black before he could stop it.

Elsa's chest was heaving, hands making their way to the familiar clutched-to-her-chest position she felt safest in. Part of her wanted to go see if he was okay, but another part argued that if he was so good with everything she was not, he would be fine. What kind of winter spirit was killed by ice and snow?

"What do I do now?" she asked herself. At first, when she built the castle, everything was amazing! She wanted to go back to that—feeling free. But she knew it wouldn't happen until she managed to stop the eternal winter hovering over Arendelle.

She caught her reflection in a wall of ice and frowned. What would her father tell her to do? She couldn't help but miss them now more than ever. They helped her every time. Even though it put them at risk, they still comforted her, helped her through the worst times.

Hesitantly, she reached out a tentative hand and swirled it around, feeling the magic leap from her fingertips. Snow gathered in small piles in front of her, drifting and pulling together. Forming, molding into snowy versions of the only people whose words she craved more than anything.

"I gave life to Olaf," she breathed, fingers working to make them perfect from memory. "Please, Momma, Pappa. _Please._"

The snow stopped moving and her hands fell to her sides. Neither of the snow sculptures moved. Not an inch. She felt her blood run cold and she reached out to brush her father's face with her fingertips. Her chin shook as she tried in vain to hold back the tears.

Waking up in the arms of a huge snow beast was not exactly Jack's best memory. Definitely not a story he'd be sharing at Guardian meetings. Jack tried to wiggle out of the snowy arms keeping him there, but he wasn't making any progress.

"Okay, buddy, I'm gonna need you to let me go now," he called up to the monster. "I need to find my staff."

The monster held up Jack's stick with his other hand. "Saved Winter Spirit."

"Thank you," Jack said slowly. Even that woman's creations seemed to recognize who he was. "Can I have my staff back?"

"Take you back to Elsa," he said, gesturing to the ice castle above them. Jack noted the name of the woman and focused back on the giant snow creature who seemed to not want to let go of him.

"Do you have a name?" Jack asked, still trying to reach across to the things other arm for his staff.

"Marshmallow."

Jack froze and looked up at him. "Really?" It glanced down at Jack, but kept its pace. "Not judging. But, Marshmallow, I wanna help Elsa."

"Help Elsa?"

"Yeah, but I need my staff to do that. And you kinda have to let me go." Without another word, it dropped Jack and his staff unceremoniously into the snow. Jack groaned. "Thanks, Marshmallow."

"Marshmallow like Winter Spirit."

Jack grabbed his staff and bounced up and away from it a few paces. "Winter Spirit likes Marshmallow. Now go back to the castle. I'm going to go see how I can help Arendelle."

The snow giant nodded and returned its slow pace towards the castle. Jack looked up to the sky. The dark storm clouds weren't just circling over the town. They were coming in from the mountains, from Elsa's castle. "This might not work," he sighed.

He jumped into a gust of wind and followed it as high as he could get. As soon as he was above the clouds, he shook his head slowly. He could stop the storm above Arendelle easily, but it would only restart in a matter of time. As long as Elsa kept producing the storm above herself.

"Guess I gotta go back and work on my people skills," he muttered, heading back for the castle. The storm raged darkly overhead as Jack skimmed the tops of the trees. The castle was a glowing beacon ahead, but it was the voices beneath him that caught his attention.

"We're here to find Princess Anna," a voice called back to the group of men behind him.

"This doesn't look good," Jack sighed, flying lower until he was level with the men.

"Be on guard," he continued. "We want no harm to come to the Queen." He hopped off his horse. "Do you understand?" The men all looked at each other in disgust.

"Ohoho, ho," Jack laughed humorlessly. "This is not a good idea, you're just going to get yourselves hurt." Jack moved to block the man's path up the stairs, but he went right through Jack.

Jack froze at the feeling, the achingly familiar feel of a person's disbelief. He spun around in the air. What, Elsa was the only adult that could see him? "I guess when you're a human with magic powers, you'll believe anything." Jack moved to speed ahead of the group, but as they reached the base of the stairs, Marshmallow moved, flipping around and growling menacingly at the humans.

"Good job, Buddy," Jack yelled above his roars and the screams of the people. "Keep them out of the castle, I'll go help Elsa."

"Protect Elsa," it growled.

Jack noticed the door on the balcony slam shut and headed for it, forcing it open a bit as he flew quietly. Elsa was pacing around the center of the large room, muttering to herself, fingertips pressing at her temples.

"Control it," she chanted. "Get it together. Don't feel, don't feel." It was like a mantra as she paced around the room, walls of ice glowing red. "_Don't feel_." She pulled her hands away from her face and stopped in the center of the room as the walls cracked and groaned, spines of ice beginning to protrude slowly towards her.

"I know you're afraid," Jack began slowly, holding up his free hand in a gesture of peace. "But there're some guys here looking for a Princess Anna."

"They must be from Arendelle. Anna is my sister," Elsa explained. "What are _you _doing here?" She waved her hand and threw more ice and snow at him, but Jack was prepared, gripping his staff with both hands now, he stopped the ice in the air.

Jack dropped the ice and stood up straight after a few seconds of no new attacks. "Alright, Elsa. I'm Jack Frost, guardian of winter and fun." He propped his staff up over his shoulder and spun around the room.

"And you think you can help me?"

"Wouldn't say it if I couldn't do it," Jack beamed. "This place is amazing!"

"Thank you," Elsa murmured, clasping her hands in front of her. "You said someone else sent you? You're not from Arendelle?" The skepticism in her voice struck a small chord in Jack.

"Oh, yeah," Jack drawled, still admiring the palace. Why had ne never thought to make something like this? "Big guy. North. Santa." Jack turned back to Elsa. "He noticed the storm above Arendelle and thought I was causing trouble."

"It's me," Elsa sighed. "I can't control it."

Jack's jaw went slack for a minute and he gestured to the structure around them. "I think we're standing in proof that that isn't always true."

"You don't understand," Elsa urged, taking a step back and clutching her hands to her chest. "I don't understand how it works. When I want to make something, I can. But when I want it to stop I can't make it."

Jack swung his staff up in the air. Small dots of snow fell softly to the ground. Startled, Elsa reached up and touched a flake. And then, without moving, he made it stop. "See? You just have to learn."

"I don't have time," she exclaimed. "Soldiers from Arendelle are _here _and they're going to—to—"

Jack skipped backwards and held up a palm towards Elsa. "Stay here, I'll get rid of the men and then I'll help you. I promise."

"Jack, I—"

The inner doors hit the wall as two of the men forced their way into the room. They lifted their bows and took aim.

"No, please," Elsa begged, holding up her hands in front of her and flinching away.

As one man released and arrow, Jack swiftly shot a blast of ice in front of Elsa, catching the arrow inches from her face.

"Elsa, run" Jack yelled as the men repositioned themselves around the ice.

"Stay away," Elsa demanded, ignoring Jack and throwing her own ice at the men. It skidded across the floor, flying up in sharp points in front of them.

"Fire, fire, fire!" One yelled to the other as they both began their own unpredictable movements to hopefully catch her off guard. Elsa, scared and trying to protect herself, flicked her hands rapidly between the two, creating menacing ice shards and sending them at the archers.

Angry now, Jack let out a guttural growl and swung his staff at one of the men, pinning him to the wall. "Leave her alone!" But Jack's words were unheard. Elsa flicked her wrist and a sharp icicle rose from the ground in front of the pinned man slowly, stopping barely an inch from his throat. "Elsa, no," Jack snapped "Don't _give _them a reason to attack you."

But she ignored him, her face set in a scowl, arms out commanding the snow and ice out of anger and fear. The other man, now afraid for his own life, began to dodge Elsa's attacks sloppily. He skid backwards as Elsa threw a wall of ice at him, pushing him towards the door to the balcony.

She blasted the doors off the wall with precision and they fell out onto the balcony, shattering the railing. Jack watched in horror as she proceeded to push the man towards the edge.

"Elsa, _stop_," Jack demanded, using his own powers to halt hers just as the rest of the men made it to the room.

"Queen Elsa!" the leader from earlier yelled from the entrance. She glanced back at them for a second, her concentration broken by Jack. She tried to keep the wall of ice pushing, but Jack was much stronger than she was. "Don't be the monster they think you are."

At his words, Elsa seemed to crumble in on herself. She took a breath and released her struggle with the ice, face softening. Jack saw the man against the wall take the chance to lift his crossbow, but the leader of them got to him first, sending the arrow through the ice chandelier directly above Elsa.

"Elsa, move," Jack snapped, dragging his staff through the air and commanding an icy wind to push her out of danger even as she ran. He heard her head take a hit just before the ringing of the chandelier shatter overtook the air. "Elsa!"

"Someone help me get her back to the horses. We need to get her back to Arendelle safely."

"Yes, Prince Hans," another man affirmed, gently lifted the small woman out of the glassy pieces.

"Leave her alone," Jack snarled, trying to stop the men from taking her. Jack's hands passed right through them, and he couldn't help the dread that spread through him like poison. Sure, he'd only just gained a small following of believers, but that didn't keep the disbelief from hurting. And now, he was helpless to save Elsa from these men.

"I want no harm to come of her," Prince Hans commanded harshly, throwing a glance to the two rebellious crew members. "Someone grab these two. They'll be tried for treason."

Jack followed them down the countless staircases and out into the snow where the horses awaited them. He had half a mind to go back to the north pole and get help from North and the others, but he didn't want to risk losing sight of Elsa. He'd promised her he would help her and he had no intentions of breaking that promise, accidentally or otherwise.

So he did the only thing he could do; he followed them all the way back to Arendelle where he watched them attached chains to her hands and lay her in a bed in what seemed to be a jail cell.

"This is really no way to treat a queen," Jack muttered, dragging his staff across the cobblestone floor and watching the frost shoot across it. He froze suddenly and spun around to look at Elsa, a contemplative look on his face. "If I knock out one of her teeth and stick it under her pillow, would a tooth fairy show up? Tooth could help. Maybe."

Jack shook his head and continued pacing, waiting for Elsa to wake up. For the time being, though, he decided to pass the time by thinking up ways to help her with her powers. His were connected to his emotions. He briefly recalled the intense battle he'd had with Pitch where he froze all his nightmare sand.

Hers had to be, too. They were much stronger when she was feeling. _"Don't feel, don't feel,"_ she'd been chanting. Jack scoffed a laugh. Great advice, whoever told her that.

A small noise from the cot dragged his attention back to the woman as she sat up and looked at the small window through which the moon was working hard to shed some light. She darted towards it but was jerked back by the chains.

"Calm down," Jack whispered as she began to freak out. "You'll be fine. I'll get you out of this."

Elsa shook her head at him, eyes wide, and pulled at the chains, trying to see out the window. She studied the snow and ice that encased what once was a beautifully glittering bay. "Jack," she breathed, "what have I done?"

"It's okay," Jack tried again. "I'm gonna get you out of here."

"It's not okay," she cried.

"Maybe not," Jack agreed, throwing a look at the room once more and noting how the edges and corners were beginning to frost over now that Elsa was awake and _feeling _again. "But I'm still gonna get you out of here."

She gasped as the creak of the old door announced an entrance, and Jack let out a breath of frigid air as that someone passed through him to stand in front of Elsa.

"Why did you bring me here?" she demanded. Jack wasn't sure who she was talking to, the prince or him, so he made an effort to answer her before the prince could.

Jack stepped forward. "I can't touch them," Jack explained, sticking his arm through the prince with every word.

"I couldn't let them kill you," the prince responded.

Ignoring Jack's antics, Elsa focused on Hans. "But I'm a danger to Arendelle. Get Anna."

"Anna has not returned," Hans told her, crossing his arms. At this, Elsa looked away, out the window and over the frozen landscape. "If you would just stop the winter—bring back summer. _Please_."

"Don't you see? I can't," Elsa whispered. "You have to tell them to let me go!"

"I'll do what I can," the prince muttered as he passed through Jack to leave.

Once the door clicked shut, Jack pressed his lips together and walked over to Elsa. He took the cuffs into his hands and began to freeze them, weakening the metal. "Lesson one; your powers are controlled by emotions. The more you feel, the more powerful they'll be." He looked up at her. "But they _can _be controlled."

Elsa took a shaky breath. "How? Teach me. Please."

A grin spread across Jack's face as the cuffs dropped to the floor. "That's what I'm here for."

"She dangerous," someone declared down the hall. As their footsteps neared the door, Jack made quick work of freezing it shut.

"But not right now, come on, you're gonna have to pull," Jack instructed.

Immediately Elsa began to tug at the chains, leaning away to add her weight to the pull. Jack spun in the air and shot snow and ice from his staff to further barricade the door and weaken the walls. A second blast towards the bottom edges of the side walls sent bricks and rocks tumbling down into the center of the room.

Elsa's hands jerked painfully from the cuffs and she made quick work of breaking the window before racing out just as the guards burst into the room.

Jack flew out through the new whole in the outer wall and chased after Elsa. The winter storm that had once hung innocently over the town was now a raging blizzard, the winds knocking even Jack Frost around.

"Elsa?" he called into the wind, not being able to see ten feet in front of him. "Elsa!"

Using his own power, he tried to stop the snow, tried to calm the wind, but neither was listening to him.

"Kristoff!" another voice called from Jack's right. He spun, eyes searching through the angry flurries for the source. He could barely make out a dim moving silhouette stumbling through the storm and he headed for it.

Jack took one look at her and knew she was Anna. The wind tossed her weakened body around like a toy and she stumbled along, curling into herself. "Kristoff," she called out weakly.

"Anna, I'm sorry," he called over the wind. "I'll help you once I find Elsa and get her to stop the storm."

He felt bad leaving her to fend for herself. She stumbled once more, her foot twisting beneath herself, and Jack reached out to catch her, but passed right through her instead. She righted herself and kept moving, calling out for Kristoff.

Knowing now that he _couldn't _help her, he took to the sky again and searched for Elsa's silhouette.

"Elsa!" Jack heard a familiarly deep voice shout out. "You can't run from this!"

"Gotcha," Jack muttered, following the voice and racing down towards it, easily spotting Elsa's form once he was close enough. She was turned away from Hans, frightened.

"Elsa, you have to stop the storm!" Jack yelled as he neared her.

Elsa ignored Jack and turned to Hans. "Just take care of my sister," she pleaded.

"Your sister?" Hans approached Elsa cautiously. "She returned from the mountain weak and cold. She said that _you_ froze her heart. I tried to save her, but it was too late. Her skin was ice, her hair turned white. Your sister is _dead_. Because of _you_."

"What?" Jack snapped, landing next to Elsa, who turned away from them both, collapsing to the ground and pulling into herself. Jack could feel Elsa's power draining. She was emotionally tired, drained, exhausted. The wind calmed but the snow remained, frozen in the air. "Elsa, it's not true. I saw Anna, she's _alive_."

But Elsa ignored him, crying to herself.

"Kristoff?"

Jack spun to see a small silhouette of a white haired girl in the distance. "See, Elsa? She's right there! Stop being afraid! You have to feel good things in order to control your powers," he insisted quickly, eyes darting to the advancing prince. "You have to _love _them." He tried to place a hand on Elsa's shoulder, but his hand slid through and he shuddered at the unwelcome and slightly unexpected feeling.

Jack clenched his teeth when he heard the keening noise of a sword being unsheathed. He stood and faced the man, staff ready to defend them. Hans raised his sword and began his downward swing.

"No!" Anna passed right through the back of Jack and stopped the sword, shattering the blade, her body now solid ice. The force of impact pushed Hans onto his back a few yards away. Elsa shot up.

"Anna?" she gasped, flying to the frozen form of the only family she had left. She knew she had done this. This was her fault. Always her fault.

Jack held his staff in front of him, ready to try and melt the ice, but something was already happening. Anna was melting on her own. With a small smile, he relaxed and watched as the sister reunited.

"Oh, Elsa," Anna breathed.

Elsa pulled away and took her sister's hands. "You sacrificed yourself for _me_?"

"I love you," Anna said with a shake of her head, eyes confused.

"Siblings will always sacrifice themselves for their family," Jack murmured, amused. He saw Elsa's eyes flick in his direction.

"An act of true love with thaw a frozen heart," a new voice mused.

Jack turned to see a small snowman holding onto his own head, a look of wonder on his face. He couldn't help but laugh. "Well, I guess if North has his yetis and Bunny has his egg things, I really shouldn't be surprised."

"Love," Elsa breathed, her eyes fully on Jack now. "Love will thaw."

"Of course," Jack smiled.

"Elsa?" Anna questioned, watching as Elsa held her hands out, gasping as the snowflakes in the air began to rise back into the clouds.

Elsa twirled around and everyone watched in wonder as the bay began to unfreeze and the boats were freed from the ice. The fountains thawed and the snow on the roofs returned to the skies. And with one final wave of her arms, the skies were clear and the air was warm once again.

"I knew you could do it," Anna bragged with a teasing smile.

"So did I," Jack said, jumping into the air. While Elsa was busy with the snowman, Jack took the chance to return to the mountains while the town sorted everything out, glad Elsa was no longer an outcast and alone.

The sun was just beginning to set on the other side of the mountains when Jack finally came down from the mountains. He'd waited until the festivities were over—he wasn't a fan of parties or crowds.

The wind carried him to a blond woman standing on a wide balcony on the west side of the castle. He landed quietly behind her, not quite sure if she could still see him.

"I'm glad you came back," she said quietly, watching the sun. "I never got to thank you."

"You don't have to thank me, you would have figured it out on your own," Jack told her, leaning nonchalantly on his staff, his hood up over his head even in the summer heat. "You're smart enough on your own."

Elsa turned to him finally and smiled. "21 years I've lived with this and I've never been able to control it."

"Now you can," he said. "It's just takes practice."

Elsa smiled and walked up to him, placing a gentle hand on his cheek. "Thank you," she whispered.

Jack cleared his throat, caught off guard by the sudden intimate contact. "I, uh, it was nothing, really. I didn't really even do anything."

Elsa grinned and gave him a peck on the lips, leaving him stunned. "You helped more than you know." She headed for the doors. "I hope you'll come back and visit more often—I might need advice from my friend the Winter Spirit."

Jack blinked at her in surprise. "Yeah, we'll see," he laughed, swinging his staff and shooting a few flakes of snow at her, which she stopped with one hand and sent them flying back at him. He let the snow hit him. "Oh, look who thinks they're so great now that they've got a handle on it."

Jack took a few steps towards her and she created a snowball with a rotation of her wrist. Another flick and it was heading quickly for him, which he sidestepped easily and continued towards her. Another swing of his staff and she was covered in a barrage of snow flurries.

Her laugh rang like bells on the balcony and she closed the space between them. "I think I've got a good handle on this snow thing now."

"Oh yeah? Then you must not need me anymore," he teased, now only inches away from her.

She cupped his face in her hands and smiled. "I don't know, Winter Spirit," she chuckled. "I think there are some things _I _could teach _you." _And with that, she closed the distance and pressed her lips to his, adequately thanking him for everything he'd done for her—for teaching her to control her powers, but mostly, for helping her to not be alone.


End file.
